Wednesday, May 29, 2013

REUSE PALLETS FOR THE DECK



This reuse project using pallets to build simple, yet beautiful patio or deck furniture on a budget. Easy to customize to your own taste...

For the most part, these pallets are just attached to each other. They were then given legs and a coat of paint. As simple as that part may be, commenters raised a few concerns. A few people noted that many wooden pallets aren't safe because they're treated with chemicals. Before jumping into the project, you'll want to be sure you don't acquire any that were. This article on Green Upgrader explains how to tell.
Another concern was putting together cushions, but commenter deesel18 explained how it's done:
You can get big blocks of foam at craft and fabric stores and cut them to size. Then you can sew covers for them. I made an outdoor foam block to put under my dogs bed, I just used spray adhesive and pressed the fabric on since it was waterproof and I wouldn't need to put it in a washer.

Aside from those two concerns, it seems like this is a pretty simple furniture project you could manage yourself in a weekend or two and save a bunch of money.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

THE DANCE OF THE HONEYBEE..REMEMBERING E.B. WHITE

Artist Mika Holtzinger 
As you may know, EB White was the author of the much-beloved books “Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little” and “The Elements of Style.” But did you also know he was a dedicated beekeeper?   With a dash of humor, E.B. White addressed queen rearing in this poem, which was published in The New Yorker December 15, 1945:



The breeding of the bee,” says a United States Department of Agriculture bulletin on artificial insemination, “has always been handicapped by the fact that the queen mates in the air with whatever drone she encounters.”


When the air is wine and the wind is free

and the morning sits on the lovely leaf,
and sunlight ripples on every tree
Then love-in-air is the thing for me
I’m a bee,
I’m a ravishing, rollicking, young queen bee,
That’s me.I wish to state that I think it’s great,
Oh, it’s simply rare in the upper air,
It’s the place to pair
With a bee.


Let old geneticists plot and plan,

They’re stuffy people, to a man;
Let gossips whisper behind their fan.
(Oh, she does?
Buzz, buzz, buzz!)
My nuptial flight is sheer delight;
I’m a giddy girl who likes to swirl,
To fly and soar
And fly some more,
I’m a bee.
And I wish to state that I’ll always mate
With whatever drone I encounter.


There’s a kind of a wild and glad elation

In the natural way of insemination;
Who thinks that love is a handicap
Is a fuddydud and a common sap,
For I am a queen and I am a bee,
I’m devil-may-care and I’m fancy-free,
The test tube doesn’t appeal to me,
Not me,
I’m a bee.
And I’m here to state that I’ll always mate
With whatever drone I encounter.


Mares and cows. by calculating,

Improve themselves with loveless mating,
Let groundlings breed in the modern fashion,
I’ll stick to the air and the grand old passion;
I may be small and I’m just a bee
But I won’t have science improving me,
Not me,
I’m a bee.
On a day that’s fair with a wind that’s free,
Any old drone is a lad for me.


I’ve no flair for love moderne,

It’s far too studied, far too stern,
I’m just a bee—I’m wild, I’m free,
That’s me.
I can’t afford to be too choosy;
In every queen there’s a touch of floozy,
And it’s simply rare
In the upper air
And I wish to state
That I’ll always mate
With whatever drone I encounter.


Man is a fool for the latest movement,

He broods and broods on race improvement;
What boots it to improve a bee
If it means the end of ecstasy?
(He ought to be there
On a day that’s fair,
Oh, it’s simply rare.
For a bee.)


Man’s so wise he is growing foolish,

Some of his schemes are downright ghoulish;
He owns a bomb that’ll end creation
And he wants to change the sex relation,
He thinks that love is a handicap,
He’s a fuddydud, he’s a simple sap;
Man is a meddler, man’s a boob,
He looks for love in the depths of a tube,
His restless mind is forever ranging,
He thinks he’s advancing as long as he’s changing,
He cracks the atom, he racks his skull,
Man is meddlesome, man is dull,
Man is busy instead of idle,
Man is alarmingly suicidal,
Me, I am a bee.


I am a bee and I simply love it,

I am a bee and I’m darn glad of it,
I am a bee, I know about love:
You go upstairs, you go above,
You do not pause to dine or sup,
The sky won’t wait —it’s a long trip up;
You rise, you soar, you take the blue,
It’s you and me, kid, me and you,
It’s everything, it’s the nearest drone,
It’s never a thing that you find alone.
I’m a bee,
I’m free.


If any old farmer can keep and hive me,

Then any old drone may catch and wife me;
I’m sorry for creatures who cannot pair
On a gorgeous day in the upper air,
I’m sorry for cows that have to boast
Of affairs they’ve had by parcel post,
I’m sorry for a man with his plots and guile,
His test-tube manner, his test-tube smile;
I’ll multiply and I’ll increase
As I always have—by mere caprice;
For I am a queen and I am a bee,
I’m devil-may-care and I’m fancy-free,
Love-in-air is the thing for me,
Oh, it’s simply rare,
In the beautiful air,
And I wish to state
That I’ll always mate
With whatever drone I encounter.



Friday, May 3, 2013

ORIGINS OREGON LOCAL ARTIST SPOTLIGHT


Origins Oregon, Sourcing The Best Of Oregon

Origins Oregon Local Artist Spotlight is all about local. Sourcing artists within our community, that we believe are not only talented artisans, they are the kind of people who share a philosophy of giving back to their community, as we do.

 Each artist we collaborate with has different experiences and backgrounds,  as well as, a multitude of skills, which show in every unique piece they craft. This is why we are proud to have every one of them on our Origins Oregon Local Spotlight page. 

 It is our goal, to give these artists, a platform to show their talent to the world, so please take some time to check out their labor of love, from our Local Artist Spotlight section of our marketplace, I think you will be excited with the beautiful, high quality work that you’ll find there. I know we are.

Here are the links to the artists from our Local Artist Spotlight. We will be adding more in the near future.